Tangible User Interface (TUI) research addresses critical issues in HCI, including reflective practice in product design, embodied interaction, and ubiquitous computing. However, these can be obscured by gadget design concepts, and the technical challenge of devices and infrastructure. This workshop is an opportunity to step aside from the frustrations of making the technology work, focusing on concerns that underlie TUI research. It is of special interest to students aiming to advance the field, and commercial researchers seeking innovative applications.

Themes include analytic and generative theories of TUIs, and deployment and evaluation in real contexts. Participants should have experience of designing and building TUIs, but we encourage position papers that “step away from the workbench” to reflect on the goals and context of research, such as:

• Human factors of manipulation
• Semantic mappings between physical and virtual
• Applied epistemology / ontology
• Social facilitation through shared objects
• Physical and material design spaces

The workshop will start with reviews of research themes emerging from position papers, emphasising current state of the field. Participants will then analyse specific design test cases from industry, or current fieldwork, applying these theoretical perspectives in structured small group discussion. Organisers are experienced leaders in the field, including Alan Blackwell (chair), George Fitzmaurice, Lars-Erik Holmquist, Hiroshi Ishii, and Brygg Ullmer. Commercial participants include Boeing and Nokia.

Please submit position papers, of no more than 4 pages, to alan.blackwell [at] cl.cam.ac.uk. At least one author of accepted papers must register for the workshop, and for one conference day.

Link: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/tangibleinterfaces/